This disclosure relates generally to hydrocarbon exploration and production, and in particular, to managing placement of wellbore tubulars in a borehole to facilitate hydrocarbon exploration and production.
A borehole may be drilled into the ground to explore and produce a hydrocarbon reservoir therein. This borehole may be referred to as the main or primary borehole. To further explore and/or increase production from the reservoir, one or more lateral boreholes may be drilled which branch from the main borehole. Such drilling extends the reach of the well into laterally displaced portions of the reservoir. During downhole operations, it may be necessary to separately and selectively enter the main and lateral boreholes with a wellbore tubular. For example, a fracturing tube may be placed in a lateral borehole for fracturing operations in the lateral well then removed to the surface. Another trip into the main borehole with a fracturing tube will allow separate fracturing operations in the main well. Other operations may also require separate entry of a tubular into multiple boreholes, such as for delivering tools downhole, fishing operations, or other remedial services.
Current tools for selectively inserting a tubular member into main and lateral boreholes are cumbersome and inefficient. Furthermore, multiple trips into the well to selectively enter the different boreholes increase the time it takes to complete the downhole operation, thereby increasing the overall cost of the operation. The principles of the present disclosure are directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations of the existing apparatus and processes for separately and selectively entering multiple boreholes of a well.